


Long Time Coming

by Casey_Wolfe



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: falloutkinkmeme, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Pre-War, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 22:12:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5945029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Casey_Wolfe/pseuds/Casey_Wolfe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nothing really feels right to Nate.  There was the whole waking up 200 years in the future thing, sure, but that wasn’t it.  He couldn’t explain what it was, just that something seemed… off.  It’s the same feeling he gets whenever he looks at Nick.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Long Time Coming

**Author's Note:**

> Warning for some main quest spoilers if you haven’t reached the Institute yet as well as MacCready’s personal quest.
> 
> I came up with this idea of everything the SS experiences during the course of the game is just a vivid “dream” brought on by an accident that put them in a coma. With that in mind, I decided Nick made the perfect option cause, hey, the “real” Nick was already alive pre-war. Of course then I started thinking about the other companions and came up with some ideas for MacCready and Danse too. So I may end up doing a little mini-series with standalone stories of the same vein if there’s any interest.

It was strange.  Nate didn’t feel like any of this was real.  Well, he supposed waking up 200 years in the future was supposed to be a shock.  Even so, that wasn’t it.

Sure it was overwhelming at first.  Waking as the sole survivor of the Vault, his sister Nora dead, and son Shaun stolen would have been enough.  Walking out into a drastically changed world was, well…  He was only glad he’d found some friends along the way.

None of those friends had been quite so unique as Nick Valentine.  Nate had no idea what it was about the man- er, synth- but he felt closer to Nick than anyone else he’d met thus far.  He liked shooting the shit with MacCready and Hancock.  He knew he could rely on Preston.  He even had some weird friendship going on with Deacon these days.

Valentine was special though.  Nate made himself feel like a teenage girl when he thought of it in those terms but there was nothing else for him to say.  There was just something off about the world he found himself in and it was the same feeling he got whenever he looked at Nick.

They sat under the cover of the rotting metal roof in the stands of Diamond City.  Nate didn’t like the company up there but the view couldn’t be beat.  Besides, the rain had driven most of the city's _elite_ inside the Taphouse.

“I love the rain,” Nate said conversationally.  He looked over to find Valentine leaning back in the cheap plastic seat, arms resting across the backs of the chairs next to him.

Nick huffed.  “Says the guy who can’t rust.”  Nate barked out a laugh, leaning back against his seat.  He felt Valentine’s arm there at his shoulders but the synth made no move to pull away.  Those glowing yellow eyes flicked over to Nate, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.  “I’ll admit,” he said, looking back out at the baseball stadium turned town, “it is nice though.  Just to stop and take a break from it all.”

“Especially when the company is good.”  Nate threw in a little wink, watching the fleeting expression across Valentine’s face.  He was certain that if the synth had the ability to blush that Nick would have been doing so then..

“There’s that,” Nick agreed softly, eyes roaming the nearly empty market as though it were the most interesting thing in the world.

Nate let it go, instead enjoying the gentle rain and the warmth radiating from his companion.  One would think that as a synth Nick would be cold.  However all the working parts inside of him kept Nick at a pleasantly human-like temperature.  It was nice having someone there, but it was even better because it was _Nick_.

“Thanks for doing this,” Nate said, and not for the first time.  He rested his head on Valentine’s shoulder without thought.  It seemed so natural to do.

“You don’t have to thank me partner,” the detective insisted, arm coming up around Nate’s shoulders in a comforting manner.  The fingers on Valentine’s right hand didn’t have skin and muscle left, just the metal bones, but they didn’t hurt as they were wrapped almost gingerly around Nate’s bicep.

“You really think we’ll find Shaun?”

“Can’t say for certain,” Nick admitted.

They had both been hoping that Kellogg would still have Nate’s missing child, but the damn bastard already passed Shaun off to the Institute.  It wasn’t until Valentine was looking through the dead man’s pockets for clues that the detective thought of a possible solution.

It was risky, letting Nick get hooked up to Kellogg’s memory unit like that, trying to sift through all the memories to find a way into the Institute.  Valentine had been insistent though, compelled to help Nate find Shaun at any costs.  Learning there was a former Institute scientist hiding out in the Glowing Sea was just the lead they needed.

Hancock had been in Goodneighbor at the time and volunteered to go along since it wasn’t as though the radiation would bother him being a ghoul and all.  The same was said of Valentine.  Nate wasn’t exactly so immune, but that was where Deacon came in.  He was supposed to find Nate a suit of power armor and bring it up to Sanctuary.

Nate had been on the way there with Valentine and Hancock when they stopped off in Diamond City.  Well, Hancock had kept right on going.  He refused to have anything to do with the city anymore.  Nate however needed a break, being mentally and physically exhausted after everything that had happened at the Memory Den finally crashing down on him.  Besides, Nick wanted to let Ellie know what he would be up to so she didn’t freak out over another disappearing act.

“Gonna do everything I can to make sure we get Shaun back,” Valentine continued after giving Nate a little squeeze.

“I know you will.”  Nate pulled away, meeting those glowing eyes.  “And you’ll never understand how much I appreciate that.  You don’t have to do any of this, but…”  Nate let out a little huff and looked down.  “I’m just glad to have you with me is all.”

A finger slipped under Nate’s chin, pushing it up so his eyes met Valentine’s again.  “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

There was a long pause before Nate smiled softly.

* * *

“A Courser?” Deacon asked in disbelief.  “Really?  That’s the plan?”

He had waited for their return from the Glowing Sea in Sanctuary.  MacCready and Preston were there as well, looking equally as skeptical as they all sat around a cooking fire.

“I’ll kill ten of them if it gets me to Shaun,” Nate growled, stilling as Valentine’s mangled hand fell on his shoulder.

“Relax General,” Preston soothed.  “We understand.”  He looked between their other companions before offering, “What can we do to help?”

“If we’re gonna build this thing,” Nate waved the plans Virgil had drawn up, “then we’re gonna need material and a lot of space.  I was hoping you could get this to the Castle.”

Preston nodded in understanding, accepting the plans.  “We’ll get started on it right away.”

“Well I’m comin’ with ya,” MacCready spoke up.  “My rifle will come in handy.  And I owe you one.”

Nate didn’t have to ask what he meant by that.  He wasn’t looking for a reward from his new friend, but arguing would get him nowhere.  The fact Nate had helped the merc track down a cure for his ailing son Duncan back in the Capital Wasteland was more than enough for Mac.  Nate only hoped that their plans to bring Duncan up to the Commonwealth once he was feeling better would work out so well.

“Me too,” Deacon added.  “I think Dez would be really pissed if I let you walk in without backup.”  Nate couldn’t help but smile at the thought.  His association with the Railroad was a tricky topic with their other friends, though none of them outright opposed the idea as they all hated the Institute with varying degrees of passion.

“Alright,” Nate decided, “sounds like a plan.”  He looked at Hancock and Valentine as he added, “Why don’t you two stay here and rest up before you head back home.  I’ll let you know what happens.”

“You sure about that brother?” Hancock was asking the same time Nick barked out, “No way in hell bub.”

“ _Nick_ ,” Nate drew out the synth’s name.

“Don’t Nick me.  I’m coming too.”

Nate sighed, dropping his voice and his eyes as he admitted, “I don’t want you anywhere near any Institute people.  Don’t want to risk them getting ahold of you.”

Valentine froze, seeming to understand the implication of the man’s words.  After a long moment, Nick murmured his agreement.  “But you better be careful,” he gruffed out, squeezing Nate’s arm meaningfully.

In the morning the two groups departed.  Preston, Hancock, and Valentine were traveling Southeast together until they reached Diamond City and went their separate ways.  Meanwhile, Nate, MacCready, and Deacon would be off to the East and the ruins of CIT.  The plan was to swing by Goodneighbor and Diamond City afterward to meet with the rest of their friends and travel to the Castle together.

Before they parted ways though, Valentine pulled Nate into his arms.  “Be careful out there partner,” he whispered in Nate’s ear.  “Come back to me in one piece, yeah?”

Nate swallowed the lump in his throat, nodding as he nestled his face into the undamaged side of Valentine’s neck.  His hands griped the back of Nick’s trenchcoat.

* * *

This was it.  The machine to intercept the Institute signal was complete.  If everything worked, Nate would be beamed into the Institute and be able to find Shaun.  No one liked the idea of him going alone, but they could only send one person at a time- if it even worked at all- and an Institute Agent would also have to be trying to beam back at the time.

The idea was to _try_ and send backup in after Nate if they were able, except they couldn’t guarantee that would happen.

No one was more worried than Valentine though.  He stepped up into Nate’s space, glowing eyes looking at him intensely.  The detective’s face pinched with emotion.  “If you don’t come back…”  It was said as both a warning and a plea.

Nate forced a brief smile.  “I’ll come back,” he assured.  “ _With_ Shaun.”

Valentine nodded, though he still looked worried.  “There’s something…”  Huffing, Nick gave up trying to talk and instead just acted.

Lips were on Nate’s, not quite as soft as a human’s but not cold and hard as he might have expected.  The synthetic flesh gave under Nate’s mouth as he pressed back, body moving closer.  He wrapped his arms around Nick’s waist, pulling him in flush.

The taste of cigarettes was in his mouth when Nate was forced to part of air.  He breathed heavily, lips brushing against Nick’s as he spoke.  “I love you Nick.”  He pulled away to meet Valentine’s eyes.  “Whatever happens…”

Nick’s lips ticked up at the corners.  “Love you too partner.”  Nate could only nod, forcing himself to let go and get up on the platform.

As a bright flash of blue surrounded him, the last thing he remembered was staring straight into Valentine’s eyes.  He remembered something seemed so strange about them.

* * *

Nate’s eyes snapped open, gasping for air.  He tried to sit up, only to have a firm hand press him back down.  “Easy partner,” a familiar smoky male voice urged.  “Calm down.  It’s okay.  You’re safe.”

Nate closed his eyes against the bright lights he was looking into when he laid back down.  He forced himself to take a few deep breaths, trying to remember where he was and how he got there.  During that time the lights thankfully dimmed, allowing him to open his eyes.

His head lulled to the side as the bed dipped and his gaze fell on one Nick Valentine.  Although rather than the synth he’d been traveling the wasteland with, this one was flesh and bone.  Bright amber-colored eyes looked at him with relief, the hint of a smile twisting full lips.

“Nick?”

“The one and only,” the detective replied.  His trademark trench coat was draped over the chair by the bed, his fedora hung on the post.

“What…?”  Nate’s brow furrowed.  He was so confused.  “What happened?”  He took in more of his surroundings, finding he was very obviously in a hospital room.

“You went and got your damn self shot,” Nick chastised, though there wasn’t much heat to it, “that’s what.”

“How?”  That time when Nate sat up he did so slowly, grateful for Nick’s steady hand on his back to steady him.

“There’s this little thing called ‘interference with police investigation,’” was the sarcastic reply.  Nate’s brows lowered even further.

Nick sighed, reaching over to the tray where a glass of water sat, offering it to Nate.  “We were supposed to be going to the Veteran’s Hall,” Nick reminded as Nate took a few grateful sips before passing the glass back.  “You were getting your awards.”

 _Operation Anchorage._ Nate remembered.  He had gotten home from deployment just before Shaun was born.  “Shaun?  Nora?”  Nate’s fingers dug into Nick’s bicep.

“They’re fine.  Nora’s probably gonna kick your ass though.”  That all too familiar smirk was back.  “And I’m gonna let her too.  Worrying me like that.”

Nate frowned, still not following.  Seeming to sense that, Nick sighed and looked away.  “I got called to a scene when we were on our way.  I offered to drop you off first but you said it was alright.  Didn’t wanna go to the damn Hall anyway.”  Huffing, Nick looked at him with a glare.  “When I spotted someone suspicious hanging around, the guy took off and you went right after him like a damn moron.”

Nate ducked his head, the one to look away that time.  That sure sounded like him.

“He couldda killed you,” Nick continued, some of the anger bleeding out into obvious worry.  Nate met his gaze.  Those eyes weren’t glowing an unnatural yellow, but Nick’s amber eyes could sure shine in the right light.  “Do you have any idea how terrified I was?!  I come around the corner and the asshole had a gun on you!  Then what do you do when he points it at me?  Step in front of the damn thing!”

As much as Nate searched his memory, he couldn’t remember.  “I…”  He shut his mouth, unsure what to say.

Nick sighed, twining their fingers together where Nate’s hand sat in his lap.  “Shot the bastard myself then.  He died before the medics arrived.”  He squeezed Nate’s hand tightly.  “It was touch and go for a while there.  But you pulled through.”  There was a little wry humor in Nick’s voice as he added, “Sure took a long enough time waking up.  Have any good dreams?”

Nate let out a startled laugh.  The wasteland had all been a dream.  Bombs hadn’t fallen, Nora and Shaun were safe, Nick wasn’t a synth.  “I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

Nick was smiling when Nate raised his eyes again.  “We’ll save it for later.”  He reached out, tucking a piece of Nate’s dark locks behind his ear where it had fallen into his face.  The familiar gesture drew a warm smile to Nate’s face, both men attempting to get used to the non-military approved cut.  “I’m so glad you’re alright,” Nick breathed, causing Nate’s chest to constrict at the masked pain there.

Nick cupped his cheek and Nate rested a hand on top of it as he apologized, “I’m sorry that I worried you.”

Nick took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.  Then a smile spread across his face, the wry one that always made Nate’s heart flutter.  “I suppose you’re forgiven.”  Nate chuckled.  “Now get over here and kiss me.”

Nate obliged, taking his husband’s chin between thumb and forefinger to tilt it up a little.  Their lips met in a gentle kiss that soon turned devouring with the hint of desperation.  Nate tasted the barely there cigarette flavor, chasing after it as his tongue ran along Nick's palette.

“Nate!”  His sister’s voice broke them apart.  Nora stood in the doorway, hand over her heart as she cradled Shaun to her chest with the other.

“Nora.”  Even now realizing that his sister’s death had been no more than a dream, he was still relieved to see her and Shaun.  He reached out for his son, accepting the bone-crushing hug Nora followed up with.

“You idiot!” she snapped, swatting at Nate viciously as she pulled away.  Nick raised an amused brow, the corner of his mouth ticking.  “What were you thinking?!”

“I don’t remember?” Nate tried to reason, which was in fact the truth.  Not that Nora was having any of it.  She went to hit him again, only for Shaun to wake from all the noise and start fussing.  “Shh, there, there buddy,” Nate soothed, bouncing him a bit.  “Daddy’s here now.”

Nick leaned over so that Shaun could see his face as well, reaching down to rub a finger on the baby’s belly.  “Papa’s here too,” Nick assured.  Nate smiled at him, leaning over to rest his forehead against Nick’s cheek.

The little bundle in their arms was the closest they would get to having a kid that was completely theirs.  Nora had been their surrogate with Nick obviously being the sperm donor.  Even though Nate hadn’t provided DNA directly, his blood still flowed through Shaun.  Not that it mattered either way since both Nate and Nick would love the little guy as their own no matter what.

“Why don’t you go home and get some rest Nick,” Nora offered.  “I’ll sit with him.”

“I’m good right here,” the man replied, scooting closer to his husband in the process, hand reaching out to rest on Nate’s hip.

Nate wasn’t naive.  He could see the rumbled clothes, the bags under Nick’s eyes.  Knowing Nick as he did, Nate was willing to bet Nick hadn’t left his side much, if at all.  Nora huffed, arms crossing over her chest, only confirming Nate’s suspicions.

“He’s fine,” she argued.  “You need to rest.”

“I’ll rest right here,” was Nick’s stubborn reply, forehead coming down on Nate’s shoulder as his fingers dug into flesh.  Nate almost expected the bite of metal but quickly shook the thought away.  The synth in his dream might have spoken and acted like _his_ Nick, but it wasn’t in fact his husband.

“Don’t make me call Ellie,” Nora shot back.

Nick groaned.  “Don’t go involving her.”

“I can and I will.”

Nick’s secretary was a firecracker.  She also happened to be dating Nora.  There was even talk of wedding bells in their future, along with a kid of their own that Ellie would carry using Nate’s DNA.

Not particularly wanting to let go of Nick either, Nate looked up at his sister.  “I won’t let him stay all night,” he promised.  The hand not holding Shaun came up to run fingers through Nick’s soft locks, a warm smile on his face as Nick sighed in contentment and leaned further into him.

Nora’s features softened.  “Alright.  I’ll come back later to get Shaun.”  She leaned over and pressed a kiss to Nate’s forehead.  “Glad you’re alright.”

Once his sister had left, Nate scooted over, ignoring his husband’s groan of protest.  “Get up here,” he scolded.  Nick kicked off his shoes before climbing into the narrow bed next to him.  Laying on his side, Nick wrapped an arm around Nate’s waist as he laid back down as well.

Shaun had drifted back off to sleep now that the noise had stopped and he had both his fathers with him.  The baby laid on Nate’s chest, rising and falling with each breath.  Both men couldn’t help but smile, finding comfort in everyone being safe and sound together.

Nate brushed a kiss against Nick’s lips.  “I love you Nick Valentine,” he murmured.

Nick’s lips twisted into a warm smile.  “I love you too, Nate Valentine.”

/End

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from Valentine’s personal quest. Also I couldn’t help but picture a young Bogart as Nick’s human form. Hey, Maltese Falcon.
> 
> Follow me on [Tumblr](http://thedenofcaseywolfe.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Edit: I ended up doing [Danse's version](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6044173) .


End file.
